The Worshiping King

2 Samuel 6:1-23

Good morning!  We are at a transition point in our series David: Kingdom Builder.  In previous weeks, we have observed the challenges David and others experienced as a result of the death of Saul and the end of his family’s dynasty reigning in Israel.  In last week’s message, Jonathan explained how David was recognized by all the tribes of Israel as king.  David then made a covenant with the elders of Israel, and they anointed him as king over Israel.  We saw how David conquered Jerusalem and established his capital there and called it the City of David.

Jonathan also explained how David sought God even in the details of how he should plan to face an enemy in a military engagement.  We also saw how God directed David in the details.

I know for me, I seek the Lord.  I commit my plans to Him like Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”  I ask God for wisdom, like James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”  These are both right and good, but I think I have room to inquire of God even more, into the details.  I know He often gives us freedom in our decision-making, but I think over time, I have gotten comfortable to the point where I don’t ask God questions like I used to, like David does.

David routinely draws near to God.  He’s not perfect at it either, but He perseveres in coming to God, in seeking Him.  Today’s message is another example of that as David goes to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem both honoring God and placing God at the center of the nation as the people had not done since perhaps even Eli’s time nearly a hundred years earlier.

Sometimes in worship, we sing a song by Charlie Hall called Center.  I didn’t think of it when preparing the worship set, but I think that song exemplifies David’s desire.  The chorus of the song says, “Oh Christ, be the center of our lives, be the place we fix our eyes, be the center of our lives.”  The bridge adds, “We lift our eyes to heaven, we wrap our lives around your life, we lift our eyes to heaven, to You.”  David is not only passively waiting for God to be the center of his life.  David actively seeks to center his life around God.

Let’s pray and look together at 2 Samuel 6:

Lord God, we do indeed pray that You would be the center of our lives.  We want to wrap our lives around Your life because life is only found in You.  We lift our eyes up to You and pray that You would speak to us now from this passage of Scripture.  In Jesus’ Name Amen.

David again brought together all the able young men of Israel--thirty thousand. He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. – 2 Samuel 6:1-2

Let’s start with a short discussion about the ark of God.  Most of you know these things, but if there are ones who are not as familiar, I think the events which come next are easier to understand when we have a handle on what the ark is and what it contains and what its significance is.

Keeping this explanation brief is going to be the biggest challenge as there are many marvelous things about the ark and it has been through a great many events since it was built during the Israelites time in the wilderness more than 400 years earlier than the events of 2 Samuel 6.  There’s a lot we could talk about.

Usually, when people hear the word ark, they think about Noah’s Ark.  Since Noah’s Ark was used to save Noah, his family, and the animals from the flood, most people think that an ark is a boat.  Of course, since most children’s books depict Noah’s Ark in the form of a boat, it’s easy to see why many associate the word ark with a boat.  Interestingly, the Hebrew word for Noah’s Ark and the Hebrew word for the Ark of God are totally different words.  The word for Noah’s ark is only used once more for something else, and that was to describe the basket or container that Moses’ mother placed Moses into when she put him in the Nile River.

The Hebrew word translated Ark for the Ark of God means a chest or sometimes a coffin, in other words in this context a good sized box.  Exodus 25 gives the details for construction of the ark of God.  From the many details given, different artists throughout the ages have produced images and reproductions of what the ark would have been like.

There are several pictures on a slide there.  One interpretation of the ark is shown the center.  The box part is almost 4 feet long, nearly 2.5 feet wide, and 2.5 feet tall.  Then, there are the two angels or cherubim on top.  The poles are used for carrying the ark.  Everything is covered with gold leaf including the inside of the ark.  The lid and the cherubim are solid gold.

Inside the ark are the tablets where God wrote the covenant with his own hand, a container with manna that the Israelites ate in the wilderness, and Aaron’s staff which budded.  While there are lots of pictures on the internet of the outside of the ark, there weren’t too many pictures available for the inside and its contents.  I chose a very simple picture obviously made in someone’s home.  If you look closely, you can see that the ark is sitting on a wooden chair like you’d find in a kitchen or informal dining room.

Although most pictures show the ark uncovered, it was in fact not something that you were allowed to look on.  It was kept inside the holy of holies in the tabernacle or tent of meeting.  When the Israelites were moving about in the wilderness, the ark was carefully wrapped by the priests and the poles inserted before the Levites were allowed to pick it up.

The ark of God was anointed by Moses at God’s command along with the tabernacle and all its furnishings making it holy.  (Exodus 40:9) Then, God’s glory came down upon the tabernacle and filled it.  (Exodus 40:34-35)  The impression must be that the ark is an important link of the Israelites to God.  In fact, Numbers 7:89 tells something else amazing about the ark … 

“When[ever] Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law. In this way the LORD spoke to him.” (Numbers 7:89) This well matches the description in 2 Samuel 6 we just read “the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.” 

With this, I think we can appreciate why David would be eager to bring the ark to his capital city.  And, there is much more we can say.  You can read about these events.  I included pictures of a few.  In the upper left is a picture of the ark of God at the parting of the Jordan River so that the Israelites could enter the Promised Land.  It was when the feet of the Levites carrying the ark entered the river that the waters parted.  Then, the people could cross.  Then, on the lower left is the ark being carried around the city of Jericho.  After seven days of circling the city, the walls fell out away from the city.  This great victory over the largest city in that area at the time resulted in a huge increase in the significance of the Israelites to the people living there before them and more importantly, an awareness of the strength of the Israelites’ God, the one true God.  I included the small inset picture on the left side because it is another example of the ark covered.  The upper left isn’t accurate.  They would not have carried the ark uncovered at that time.

At the conquest of Israel, the tabernacle was set up at Shiloh.  The tabernacle remained at Shiloh for about 300 years.  Shiloh is where Eli judged Israel and Samuel heard God as a young boy.  The Israelites removed the tabernacle from Shiloh to take it into battle against the Philistines.  The Israelites did not seek God at that time but rather took the ark thinking they could use it as a weapon or a charm to have a victory over the Philistines on their own.  God allowed the Philistines to be victorious and capture the ark.

On the upper right, you see a wall painting from the oldest known synagogue in the world (at Dura-Europos in Syria) dating to 244-254 AD.  This one shows the Philistine captivity of the ark.  In the middle of the rubble on the right, you can see the statue of Dagon with its head, hands and feet broken off as described in I Samuel 5.  The ark is shown there on a cart being pulled by oxen which is how the Philistines returned the ark to Israel.  The oxen without being directed by anyone pulled the ark to Beth Shemesh in Israel.  The people of Beth Shemesh called the people of Kiriath Jearim to come get the ark, so they did.  The ark then stayed at Kiriath Jearim for almost 100 years until these events of 2 Samuel 6.

There is one more picture on this slide on the lower right.  It is a picture of David playing a harp before the ark as it is brought to Jerusalem, but that is getting ahead of the story.  Those events happen at the end of today’s chapter.

Here in verse 1 of 2 Samuel 6, we see that this is a big deal.  David has assembled 30,000 young men to take part in this ceremony of bringing the ark up to Jerusalem.  Baalah in Judah is another name used for Kiriath Jearim.  The ark is called by the Name, the Name of the Lord Almighty.  That expression “called by” indicates ownership.  It’s not David’s ark.  It’s God’s.

David recognizes and acknowledges God’s kingship over himself and the people of Israel.  Restoring the ark to a place of prominence in the nation exemplifies David’s heart.

They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals. – 2 Samuel 6:3-5

It’s quite surprising here that David follows the example of the Philistines in putting the ark on a cart rather following the instructions in Exodus 25.  The house of Abinadab is the location where the ark was located in Kiriath Jearim in I Samuel 7:1.  It’s still there after all this time.

There is a huge celebration going on.  It says they are celebrating with all their might.  Sometimes I sing more loudly than others, but I have to say it is not often that I sing with all my might.  It’s funny, but I only sing with all my might when I am alone.  Almost always, it’s at the church.  I have a hymnal with my favorite up tempo hymns marked.  I will sing through them worshiping while walking around.  Sometimes I pretend I’m Steve Green and try to sing like him.  If you came in while I was doing that, you’d probably not be impressed.  I can sing, but I’m not a great singer.  The harder you sing, the more likely you are for your voice to crack or for notes to drift.  When I worship alone in that way, I don’t have to worry about being a distraction.

In 2 Samuel 6 though, no one is worried about being a distraction.  All Israel is celebrating with all their might.  Here’s a quick look at examples of those musical instruments. Mostly, they are percussion instruments.  Castanets are small wooden or metal pieces that can be clicked together.  Harps are stringed instruments open on one side.  Lyres are another stringed instrument.  They have supports on both sides.  Timbrels are tambourines.  (The example here is a replica constructed from from an Egyptian wall painting dated 1500 BC.  Miriam would have played something similar at the deliverance of Israel from the army of the Pharaoh at the crossing of the Red Sea. These were usually played by women as accompaniment to a song or dance.  This replica was built around 1900 and is part of the the Charles Lanphere Collection at the Potsdam Public Museum in New York.)  Sistrums are shakers.  And cymbals are cymbals except in those days were smaller and thicker, not more than 6 inches in diameter. 

Everyone is engaged and they are no doubt stirring up quite a joyful noise.

When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God. – 2 Samuel 6:6-7

It’s not necessarily the case that Uzzah had any wrong intent by reaching out to steady the ark.  However, there are multiple instructions this is not allowed.  Exodus 25:15 says that the poles for carrying the ark are to remain in place and not be removed.  This implies there is no fiddling with the ark even to put in the poles used for handling it.  Numbers 4:5-6 explains how the ark is to be covered with three separate layers of material.  Numbers 4:15 gives the consequences of improper handling.  The Levites “must not touch the holy things or they will die.”  The verse describes his act as irreverent.  The Hebrew root word has the impression of negligence or carelessness.

I’ve heard Ravi Zacharias talk about this topic of the consequences that God chooses to employ at different times.  I think it is hard for us to understand but perhaps some of these concepts can help.  First, we must realize that we all deserve death.  There is nothing apart from the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ that gives us any standing before God or privilege to be alive.  God is holy and we are not.  If we looked on God without Jesus, we would be undone.  We would die.

God also has different expectations of people in different circumstances.  We can look at the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness and think, “Wow! Wasn’t God being a little harsh with them?” because we don’t see those sorts of things happening today.  It is important to keep in mind that the generation of the Exodus walked through the sea on dry land.  They saw the fire of God fall on Mount Sinai.  They gathered and ate miraculous manna every day.  They drank water drawn from solid rock.  They saw the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.  They wore the same clothes and shoes for 40 years and they didn’t wear out.  Having those experiences and then ignoring or neglecting the things of God seems to demand accountability.

At this moment, David is bringing God’s holy ark to the city of Jerusalem.  David’s heart is right in wanting to restore the ark in Israel, but the way that they are doing it totally disregards what God has said is required.  It is a situation where God is being put to the test.  Is what God said true?  Did God really say that if you touched the holy things you would die?  Up until the point where Uzzah touches the ark, God has been patient, withholding judgment.  We didn’t talk about Numbers 4:20 where it says the Levites “must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”  If the ark is being carried uncovered on the cart, all the people could be subject to judgment.  Though the consequences against Uzzah are certainly severe, it should be considered that God is being merciful even at that moment of striking Uzzah down.

Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?" He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. – 2 Samuel 6:8-10

First, David is angry.  It doesn’t say that he was angry with God.  Perhaps he was angry at himself.  Anger can accompany feelings of grief.  David memorializes the place where it happened with the name Perez or “outbreak against” Uzzah.

One more thought about this situation.  It is good to remember that God is the author of life.  He can take away, yes.  But He can also give life.  Uzzah may have been struck down because of his negligence toward the holy things of God, but that doesn’t mean that God wouldn’t raise Uzzah to life in the resurrection.  If Uzzah’s hope is in God, and we don’t have any reason to say that it isn’t, then believers will very well meet Uzzah in eternity.

In the short term, David is also afraid.  He does decide to take the ark somewhere nearby.  He doesn’t abandon the ark.  He doesn’t abandon God.  But, he does step back from his plan to bring the ark to Jerusalem for a time.

The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. – 2 Samuel 6:11-12

Obed-Edom is called a Gittite.  A Gittite is a person from Gath.  Gath is most often associated with the Philistines as Gath was the name of one of their five key cities.  Some writers have expressed confusion because Obed-Edom is described as a Levite in I Chronicles.  It turns out that there are multiple cities named Gath including two cities given to the Levites in Joshua 21.  One is located in the territory of Dan, the second in the territory of Manasseh.  This seems a likely explanation of how Obed-Edom is called a Gittite as he was living on the border of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah far from any place called Gath but known by the place he had come from.

Psalm 30:5 says God’s “anger lasts only for a moment.”  We see that demonstrated in a short time.  In only three months, Obed-Edom has been so blessed that it is noteworthy to the point of informing the king.  As a result, David is not afraid any more.

I Chronicles 15 gives a bit more detail of the care that was taken as they came to bring the ark from Obed-Edom’s house to Jerusalem.  David had made some investigations during the three months that had passed.  Now, he …

… summoned Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab the Levites.  He said to them, ‘You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it.  It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke out in anger against us. We did not inquire of Him about how to do it in the prescribed way.’  So the priests and Levites consecrated themselves in order to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel.  And the Levites carried the ark of God with the poles on their shoulders, as Moses had commanded in accordance with the word of the LORD. – 1 Chronicles 15:11-15

Now continuing in 2 Samuel 6:13 …

When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the LORD with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets. – 2 Samuel 6:13-15

David makes a sacrifice as they now see God’s blessing on the Levites handling of the ark.

I’ve seen artists’ interpretations of this event showing David nearly naked.  I Chronicles 15:27 doesn’t really give us room for that expectation.  There it explains that David was clothed with a robe as were all the Levites, singers, and song leaders.  Additionally, it says David was wearing an ephod which is usually depicted as a sleeveless pullover that goes down to mid-thigh.  In other words, David was dressed like everyone else who was part of the immediate procession nearest the ark.

Another aspect that I’ve seen depicted is that David here is dancing in an almost solo performance.  He was dancing with all his might, for sure.  The atmosphere though is one of total celebration.  Everyone is shouting and now we’ve added trumpets to the instrumentation.  I think the only people who weren’t dancing in some way were the Levites carrying the ark.  They probably weren’t dancing.

As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. – 2 Samuel 6:16

This is an interesting passage to consider when some folks in the church have been absolutely opposed to dancing.  While there are certainly forms of dance that are inappropriate, these verses make it clear that there are forms of dance that are good and right in the eyes of God.   It certainly isn’t wrong to dance before the Lord in worship.

Just like any activity, there are some who are more gifted at dancing than others.  It’s pretty unlikely you’ll see me dancing around.  Is that because I’m not worshiping?  No, it’s just that I’m not especially coordinated.  I remember in middle school there was a spot outside where there was a raised piece of concrete.  Whenever a group was standing in that area someone invariably would be standing on that little spot balancing on one foot including me.  I still laugh about it, but one day when I was standing there on one foot wobbling around one of the guys blurted out, “Wow! You have the balance of a cow!”  It was not a complement.

We don’t know whether or not Michal could dance.  Regardless, it was wrong for her to despise David for dancing.  It was also likely wrong for her to withhold her participation and watch only from a window.

They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. – 2 Samuel 6:17

The movement of the ark is a success.  They have brought the ark to the City of David.  David continues in this special role in keeping with his wardrobe.  His actions are those of a priestly king.  This is a demonstration of how David foreshadows Jesus.  Jesus is the true King and the true High Priest who entered the heavenly tabernacle as our sacrifice Himself.  David here takes an active part in the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings together with the priests most likely a supervisory role.

After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. – 2 Samuel 6:18-19

Likewise, we see David giving the blessing.  The giving of the blessing is also typically done by the priests though not forbidden for the king to do it.  The gift of bread, dates, and raisins certainly shows the generosity and thoughtfulness of the king.  Baked goods were also part of the sacrificial meal that followed fellowship offerings.  King David is ensuring that everyone has participated in this monumental worship event equally and appropriately according to the Law.

When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" – 2 Samuel 6:20

David had been busy that day in his God-given role as the priestly king of Israel.  He also remembers his God-given role as husband and father to his household.  He comes home after these events to bless them, too.

The word behind this translation to “go around half-naked” has a really broad definition.  It certainly can mean being unclothed.  But it appears 188 times in Scripture for all sorts of uncovering situations.  It can even mean “to be carried away.”  Based on what we already talked about from I Chronicles 15.  It seems more likely that Michal despises David not wearing his royal robes and not acting more “kingly.”  Perhaps too, David’s dancing resulted in some bare legs showing.  Maybe David pulled up his robe to better “kick his heels.”  It seems like the picture of David jumping around in his underwear somehow misses the mark.

David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when He appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel--I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor." And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death. – 2 Samuel 6:21-23

Wouldn’t it have been easy for David to become angry here?  Instead though, he answers in a direct and honest way.  His dancing was before the Lord.  It was before the Lord David celebrated, he was not thinking about what others would be thinking.

There are multiple passages in the New Testament that reinforce this concept.  (Galatians 1:10, Colossians 3:22, Ephesians 6:6, Hebrews 4:13) External service that is done to please people is not pleasing to God.  We are exhorted to seek to please God out of the sincerity of our hearts.

That sounds challenging sometimes doesn’t it?  What if we are lacking sincerity of heart?  Then what?  Well, we should certainly stop and confess it if we find that is the case.  We should also open our hearts to God’s Holy Spirit.  2 Corinthians 2:12 says fleshly wisdom or the wisdom of this world does not show us the way to conduct ourselves.  Instead, we should act in the grace of God.  In God’s grace, we can have holiness and sincerity.  We cannot have it in our own strength.

Sometimes, it may be undignified in some people’s eyes.  We must seek to be humble.  Here David even says he is willing to be humiliated in his own eyes.  Let us seek to live out Proverbs 3:5-6.  In all our ways let us seek to acknowledge God and submit to Him, giving Him glory and praise.  In this, the Lord will make our paths straight, and we will be able to respond rightly in adversity.

I like Isaiah 42:13 for many reasons. It says, “The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies.”  In this context, I take at least a bit of comfort that the Lord himself stirs up His zeal.  Sometimes, we need to “stir ourselves up,” and that’s okay, too.  Even more, we should not be afraid of getting stirred up about the Lord.

Psalm 132 is closely associated with David’s movement of the ark because it speaks of the Lord and the ark of His might coming to its resting place in Jerusalem.  In it, we also see that this movement of the ark is just the beginning.  In verse 11, it says, “The LORD swore an oath to David, a sure oath he will not revoke: ‘One of your own descendants I will place on your throne.’ ” This promise is fulfilled in Jesus, the everlasting king.  Then, in the closing verses of the psalm (v.17-18) God says, “Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one.  I will clothe His enemies with shame, but His head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”  Again, this is Jesus crowned with many crowns, the Lamb upon the throne.

We can look to Jesus our King and see how he lived on the earth.  Jesus was humiliated, beaten, and crucified.  He was obedient to death, even death on the cross.  John 14 shows how Jesus centers His life around the will of the Father.  In parallel to David’s comment of honor shown by the slave girls.  I think of the woman who loved Jesus and anointed His head with costly perfume in Mark 14:9.  Her open and outward sacrifice of worship and praise is still remembered and discussed to this day as Jesus said it would.

Let us worship Jesus like David and the woman of Mark 14 did, with all our might.  Let’s pray.

Lord God, by Your Spirit enable all who call on Your Name to worship in Spirit and in truth.  May we be unrestrained in our worship of You.  You are worthy of all honor and glory and praise.  Thank You that You have made us a part of Your family forever.  In Jesus’ Name Amen.